[heretogetout]

> Even if abortion was a moral issue, and not about preserving human life, nothing precludes states from legislating morality.

Not nothing -- we have a constitution that guarantees rights, many of which are rights to behave immorally (in the eyes of some). In fact that's the core of the Democrat's argument.

> And people perceive that conflict as involving more fundamental issues than what the marginal income tax rate should be.

Agreed, and that's pretty much my entire point.

> It’s an error to rely on the Presidential popular vote. Because it doesn’t count nobody is trying to win it.

I see this argument a lot but I don't find it convincing. There are plenty of senate and representative seats that are not competitive and yet we still count their votes when discussing the balance of power between the two parties, despite the fact that one side is less likely to try to win.